Odisha Is Second-Worst Governed Big State!

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has been ranked second-worst among 18 large states in India in governance.

The latest Public Affairs Index, a measure of states’ governance prepared by Bengaluru-based think-tank Public Affairs Centre (PAC), has placed Odisha at the 17th position with an equity score of minus 1.462, while Uttar Pradesh has hit the bottom.

Odisha slipped two positions after being ranked 15th in 2020 with a score of minus 1.155, the highest since PAC released the index data in 2016. It occupied 16th in 2019, 17th in 2018, 16th in 2017 and 17th in 2016.

Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana have bettered their position, while Kerala has retained its best-governed state tag.

The ranking is based on three broad factors – equity, growth and sustainability, and five themes – effectiveness of government, control over corruption, voice and accountability, rule of law and regulatory quality.

Though Odisha performed well in implementation of schemes in terms of coverage and access, there was no improvement in governance, the study said.

Odisha ranked second in Delta-Equity but 17th in Equity Pillar. In terms of Sustainability, the state along with Tamil Nadu and Kerala showed the largest growth. Odisha also exhibited the best year-on-year improvement under 12 key development indicators.